Seek To Find
by Yukirei
Summary: An Alternate Universe fic. Set amidst a background of dark creatures, witchcraft and village tales. Chapter 2 Opponent: The Zoro vs Sanji duel continues!
1. Adventure

Title: **Seek To Find: Adventure  
**Fandom: One Piece  
Pairing(s): None  
Rating: PG, for language  
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichiro-sensei. This is a non-profit fanfiction written by a fan, for the enjoyment of other fans.

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_(strike out)  
It was a dark and stormy night. _

_"I don't want to be in this story already!"_

_"Come on Usopp, let's go! I can smell the adventure in the air! Right ahead!"_

_"Wait, wa-- Nooooooooo"  
(/strike out)_

Thunder rolled across the heavens - an outraged giant thumping on the table for his food.

Rain fell wildly on the earth - kamikaze pilots diving with the glee of knowledge of their contribution to victory.

Lightning lit up the skies - a crack of a whip forcing open the eyes of a semi-conscious man.

The old castle bravely withstood the elements - nature in all its destructive splendour, standing by its lonely self on the cliff overlooking the roaring sea with waves that surged high into the air and threw themselves into the cliff wall.

Inside the castle, the noise of the rain was muffled by thick stone walls. It was almost quiet, peaceful, even. Hardly a sign of the violence that raged outside, but for the trickles of water that must have entered from some small holes somewhere and the ocassional flashes of light that caused the long windows to draw even longer silhouettes.

Peaceful.

Yes.

Deserted?

It almost seemed so. But then there were those lights.

One was the flickering candlelight which could be seen in the dining room, casting a weak glow upon food-laden silverware that filled the whole of the enormous table, in the middle of which stood the three white candles. The table was long, as was the dining room. The candlelight didn't reach the walls; it barely reached the ends of the table. One might have missed the figure sitting at one end entirely if not for the dim red glow of the end of a cigarette. If one looked harder, one might even notice the thin stream of smoke that ocassionally trailed upwards from the figure's lips. He was the preparor of the wonderful dishes on the table - dishes that he would never be able to eat.

There was a second light, not much stronger, and hardly enough, by the preferences of its bearer. The flame that burned the wick, fueled by oil illuminated the area around them well, but if the bearer had its way, it would be so bright that they wouldn't need the lantern in the first place. Actually, if the bearer _totally_ had his way, they wouldn't even be here.

The second light had been moving shakily through the castle. But that was then. Now its motion had halted, as its bearer stood stockstill, tanned skin turning ashen as he stared with widened eyes at the profile of the creature in the chair hardly ten metres away from himself. Light blond hair fell over a ghastly pale face, shading the top half of the face from view. His companion, however, paid the original occupant of the room no heed, eyes widening for a different reason altogether.

**"FOOD!"** was his joyful cry as he rushed forward to the huge dining table, practically sparkling.

His hand was already on the whole roasted chicken when he paused momentarily, twisting his head to the figure sitting at the end of the table.

The figure removed the cigarette from his mouth.

"You can have it if you want."

"YAAYY!" The boy at the table so expressed his gratitude, and proceeded to lift the chicken off the plate and to his mouth.

The bearer of the lantern began to take steps backwards.

Was that what he thought it was?

He thought he had glimpsed something when the creature spoke.

"Luffy, let's go..." The words came out in a squeaked whisper that could hardly be heard even by the speaker himself.

"MMMMM... It's really good!" The boy who the bearer called Luffy exclaimed after he had made quick work of the chicken and before the lobster managed to reach his mouth.

"You think so?" The figure stood up suddenly, the feet of the chair rubbing across the floor. Any sign of tiredness that was present before was completely gone. A wide grin split his face as he enthusiastically offered, "Have more!"

"Luffy, let's go!" The bearer of the lantern finally managed to find his voice. With the creature's grin, he had confirmed what he had thought he caught with the earlier glimpse.

"Why?" Luffy asked in bewilderment. Swallowing his mouthful of meat in one strong swallow, he said, offering a drumstick to his friend, "Try this, Usopp, it's wonderful!"

Usopp shook his head hard, his knees knocked together even harder. "LUFFY, THAT IS A VAMPIRE!"

Fangs. He had seen FANGS! Normal human didn't have fangs. No way. So that creature wasn't a normal human. Normal humans didn't live in old castles that were rumoured to be haunted and absolutely prohibited from entry due to the "dangers" within either. So he couldn't have been normal. He couldn't have been _human_. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Luffy stared at Usopp, then turned his head to stare at the figure across the table for a few moments before turning back to stare at Usopp.

He finally spoke.

"So?"

Tears flowed from Usopp's eyes like water hoses left open. "A vampire, Luffy! Vampires drink blood! They kill humans! He's going to kill us, probably making our blood richer or more nutritious before devouring us. We have to leave! NOW!"

"He doesn't seem like he's going to kill us," Luffy responded. His head tilted to the side thoughtfully for a moment, then he turned to look at the vampire.

"I don't intend to kill you," the vampire said, shrugging lightly as he reached into his pocket for another cigarette and lit it by the flame of a candle.

"See?" Luffy told Usopp happily.

"How can you believe him? He's lying! He's a liar!"

"You're the liar." Luffy gave a delighted laugh, apparently over being puzzled and now deciding that it was funny.

Usopp cried more.

"Here, have one," Luffy extended the drumstick to Usopp once more.

Usopp stared at the drumstick through tears-blurred vision, then looked up at the vampire. The vampire had turned around and moved away, and was now standing by the window, back facing the dining table and the boys.

Usopp took the drumstick, giving it a suspicious sniff. The tantalising aroma of roasted meat and unknown sauces entered his nostrils. He gave a tentative nibble, blinked in surprise, then proceeded to yank a whole chunk of meat with his teeth.

"Thwish is 'ood!" Usopp declared as he chewed.

Luffy, who had not stopped eating except for a millisecond to watch Usopp's reaction, beamed.

The vampire, who had been watching the boys out of the corner of his eye, turned his gaze upon the majestic storm outside, releasing a stream of smoke through his lips curved slightly in a smile.

"Waaaa I'm so full!" Luffy announced when the table was finally empty of food. It was the best midnight snack he has had! His brother was going to be so angry with himself for falling asleep while discussing with Usopp about the route to take to the cliff top, and missing out on such glorious food. He turned to look at the back of the vampire who was still staring out of the window. "Thank you for the food!"

The vampire turned and flashed Luffy a slight smile.

"Are you really not going to kill us?" Usopp cautiously asked the question he had completely forgotten about during the meal.

"I don't kill humans," the vampire said. Try not to.

"But you live on blood! We've heard of corspes of villagers found completely drained of their bloods, especially on nights like this, so it must have been you!" Usopp protested, then mentally smacked himself for the lack of self-restraint and started to tremble again. What if that had just angered the vampire into deciding that they would be his next meal when he originally hadn't planned to?

"I drink from humans who are already dead."

"You do?" Usopp asked in surprise. It was true that the casualty rate of those caught out at sea during storms was horribly high, and come to think of it, most of the corspes drained of blood were found on the shoreline, which was the reason why the beach was another location among the top of the villagers' Haunted Places To Avoid list.

"Can we come to eat here again? Your cooking skills are really awesome!" Luffy cut in, getting tired of watching the conversation.

The vampire looked extremely pleased. "You're welcomed to come anytime."

"Awesome!"

"I don't think so."

Eyes turned towards the second entrance to the dining room by the other end of the table.

Luffy blinked.

Usopp gaped.

The vampire met the eyes of the newcomer steadily.

Perhaps now is a good time to continue the discussion of our observations regarding the lights in the castle.

There was a third light, which couldn't exactly be called a light. It was more of a reflection of light that caused the light. The glint of shine from lightning flashes across metal. Alternatively, if one could consider the whites of eyes, stark in the darkness, as a light, so visible as they were in the dark, that could be counted as the third light as well.

While the owner of those eyes was no longer in the dark, the eyes still remained in the shadow of the bandana tied above them, and the whites of the eyes were still clearly visible, like a light piercing through the darkness.

The pupils of the eyes shifted for a brief moment to the two boys at the dining table before returning to the vampire.

"You sure are getting a lot of visitors today, vampire." The eyes narrowed.

"These two boys are my guests. They're welcomed. You, bastard, are not." The vampire's visible eye took on a sharp look as he punctuated his sentence with a stream of smoke. Suddenly, the slowly-rising trail of smoke made him look deadly rather than laidback as it previously had.

"Che. Like vampires have human guests. Whatever you say." The newcomer's hands moved to the hilts of the three blades hanging on his waist.

"That's..." Usopp breathed out in a whisper as he suddenly recognised the newcomer.

"You wouldn't be existing to see the next sunrise anyway."

"...demon hunter, Roronoa Zoro!"

"Who's that?"

"We'll see about that."

* * *

_To be continued...  
_  
Date written: 13 November 2005, early morning

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Author's Notes  
An attempt at art was the beginning of it all - a _failed _attempt to be precise. (cough) I was trying to draw SuaveVampire!Sanji after drawing a vampire!Sanji in a celebratory doodle for Halloween. I couldn't quite succeed with the "suave" bit and mostly forgot about it.  
But then, in my nap earlier in the evening on the 12th of November, I had a dream where there was Vampire!Sanji, black suit and flowing cloak, dancing with Nami who was in an elegant white dress.  
I considered attempting the art again, and while doing so, various random thoughts flashed past my mind, including some words from a fic of **X-parrot**'s - one of the fics that I was reading on **Shiy**'s recommendation. If you hadn't guessed already, the fic was _He Comes For Us All_, and the words were "demon hunter".  
So I thought: _hmm... I would write a fic with Zoro the hunter and Sanji the hunted, a vampire who's after the attentions of the lovely village maiden, Nami_. And then... as it ocassionally happens and seems to be happening more often lately, my fic deviates from plan, starts typing itself out and became an adventure of Luffy and Usopp instead. (sweatdrops) 

Reviews are always appreciated. If you have left a review, thank you.  
(And in case anyone feels so inclined for some reason: please do not include spoilers beyond the Skypiea arc in reviews. Thanks.)


	2. Opponent

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichiro-sensei. This is a non-profit fanfiction written by a fan, for the enjoyment of other fans.

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**Seek To Find: Opponent**

His nerves were tingling with excitement as he stood at the end of the room, feet slightly apart for balance.

He could feel the danger on his skin, hear the pounding of heart - rate increased by the rush of adrenaline - in his ears, taste the enemy - the vampire - on his tongue.

Nothing ever made him feel as alive as hunting down a demon and slaying it.

The vampire opposite him shifted one foot slightly, as if readying himself for the fight, but apparently didn't intend to make the first move.

Never one to dawdle with such minor matters, the demon hunter bit firmly on the hilt of the sword between his teeth and leapt forward, ignoring the screams and cheers of the "audience".

Wind rushed past his ears as he advanced towards the vampire by the window.

The vampire evaded the first attack deftly. Zoro was glad. At least it meant that he wasn't fighting a complete weakling. There wasn't much thrill in defeating those.

Zoro turned without pause and dove in for a second attack with two blades. The vampire slid past him, dodging the attack easily.

As expected, Zoro thought as he spun around swiftly with his right foot as the pivot, driving the swords toward the vampire's heart.

_Too slow._

He had barely formed the thought when something dark and long swung out, connecting with the flat of the two blades, effectively deflecting the attack.

Had he been a weaker man, the force would have thrown him to the ground. As it was, Zoro merely felt his swords swing to the side and quickly steadied his hold on them.

His eyes flicked back to the other. One leg was held vertically upright, shoe pointing skyward. The position of follow-through from the kick. The leg was slowly lowered to the ground.

Zoro narrowed his eyes.

_Not bad, vampire._

Though aloud, all he said was:

"Is that the best you've got?"

The vampire inhaled a puff of cigarette and exhaling a languid stream of smoke, calmly said, "Not at all."

- - - - -

The vampire was a worthy opponent. If he defeated him, it would mean that he had become even stronger.

Wind cried in Zoro's ears, blood pounded in his head. He could hear nothing but the wind, his heartbeat and the breaths he had to draw in and out of his lungs.

Zoro didn't hear the yells--

"GO, Sanji!" Luffy cheered. His eyes darted left and right, following every movement.

"Let's GO, Luffy!" Usopp was back at his original plea, watching the fight through his fingers. Even if Sanji was a good vampire, he didn't want to get caught in the "crossfire" when THE demon hunter, Roronoa Zoro was around.

--nor did he hear the crash that resounded through the room when a box on the dining table was struck right off the table, the trays that were stacked to form the said box spilling their contents - gorgeous-looking, neatly-and-painstakingly-arranged food - onto the cold stone floor.

Then suddenly, there was silence. Even the yelling ceased. And that Zoro noticed. At least, he couldn't have missed the complete halt in motion on the part of the vampire.

Sanji stared at the pile of wasted food on the floor, a devastated expression crossing his features.

Normally, Zoro would simply go ahead with the kill if his prey should be distracted. But where Zoro had acknowledged the other as an opponent rather than just a prey, he wanted to win with the opponent fighting all the way to the end. Or else, it would be pointless.

And so Zoro waited.

He didn't have to wait long.

Sanji swiftly turned his head and baring his fangs, yelled at the top of his voice, "That was specially prepared for Nami-san, you shitty imbecile!"

For a fleeting moment, Zoro felt like a child who had done something wrong - guilty and apologetic. But as said, the moment was brief; after it had passed, Zoro was shaking his right hand and the sword in it angrily at Sanji, shouting equally loudly, "How was I to know that, bastard?"

The only reply he got was a vicious kick toward his head. Followed by another. And another. And another.

The cheering started once more. Though the plea to leave became a musing about how the vampire knew priestess Nami.

Zoro managed to avoid the strikes, but found himself merely defending rather than attacking. It wasn't as if the vampire hadn't taken the offensive at all earlier; but his attacks then were nothing compared to the series of swift, continuous kicks now (accompanied by various words articulated in some language Zoro couldn't and didn't want to bother to understand). Now, there was actually an oppressive force pushing down on him; each attack sent him closer into the corner. A grin spread on Zoro's face. This was the kind of fight that sent thrills down his spine.

Zoro gathered himself for a counter-attack, his eyes keenly watching for a weak point to attack. Everything was instinct. Zoro was never one to think too much during a fight. He left everything to his body's reflexes.

There.

Zoro raised his swords.

But before he could bring them down, one kick connected.

The sword between Zoro's teeth flew to the ground where it fell with protesting clangs.

Arms raised, Zoro was left wide open.

The series of kicks resulting sent Zoro crashing across the room.

Eyes widened.

Jaws dropped.

The ringing of shattering glass resonated as Zoro hurtled through a long window.

Sheets of rain fell around him. Their voice muffled all other sound. It was as if a wet cold blanket had enveloped him, drenching him from head to toe. The needles of water struck his face with no intention of ceasing, random yet seemingly with some kind of rhythm.

For one full second, Zoro felt a new sensation that he had never experienced before - powerless.

Then the second was over and Zoro's grin grew wider. He clenched the hilts of the swords in his hands more tightly and twisted his body in the air, into a position such as to minimise injury, as he braced himself for the impact.

A dark shadow flitted across his vision, almost blending into the dark skies behind him.

The shadow grew larger as it dove toward the ground faster than the velocity of free fall. A magnificent blur of black, red and blond.

Zoro narrowed his eyes as he recognised the shadow. As it drew closer, stretching an arm towards him, he opened his mouth.

"I don't need your help, bastard," Zoro barked.

"I don't want to help you either, shitty hunter. But the kids said you were some kind of hero," Sanji spat back.

The hand grabbed at Zoro's forearm.

Zoro swung out with his other arm.

Pale fingers brushed past wet skin, leaving a chilly trail colder than the rain.

Zoro heard the figure curse as he opened his arms, cloak billowing behind him, and glided out of view.

The ground was harder than Zoro would have liked it to be.

A single shockwave exploded through his body. The dark surroundings turned completely white for a passing moment.

Then the white began to fade. And Zoro gradually became aware of the excruciating pain, and once more, the ceaseless beating of the rain.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the vampire rising from the crouch in which he had landed some distance away.

Zoro pushed himself to his knees, and then up on his feet, messily wiping off the blood streaming down the side of his face with the back of his hand. He swayed unsteadily.

Sanji had turned around and was staring at him incredulously.

Zoro smirked. He enjoyed it when his opponents took on that look.

Finding one hand empty, he raised it to the other hand. He was usually a three swords user. But there had been exceptions. And he was keen to find out if he remembered one of them.

He almost fell with the first step he took, and then he was off, almost flying towards the vampire.

The vampire kicked out, dodging his attacks and returning them.

But it wasn't enough. The song of the wind and the rain sang in his ears. Zoro lifted the sole remaining white sword with both hands.

_Lion's Song._

The metal blade of the splendid sword plunged into the vampire's abdomen. There was no blood - vampires didn't have blood - and the only sign that there had been any effect was the widening of the vampire's visible eye as he collapsed onto the ground.

Zoro withdrew his blade, looking down at the limp body of the vampire sprawled on the floor. He wasn't dead - vampires disintegrate upon destruction - but he was definitely seriously injured, his eyes opened but glazed over.

Zoro grinned with the knowledge of the victory close at hand, the adrenaline, not quite finished, made him somewhat dizzy. He raised his hand and the sword in it, ready to stab it into the vampire's heart to claim his triumph.

Suddenly, the sword fell from his hand. His arm fell to his side. Zoro narrowed his eyes, but found that he couldn't summon the strength to raise his arm, like he hadn't been able to command his fingers to hold on to the sword. The sword landed silently on the wet grass beside the vampire. Perhaps the wave of giddiness hadn't been all due to the adrenaline.

"Oi!" A voice sounded above his head.

Zoro looked up to see a head stuck out of the window of a room on the second storey, directly above him. He couldn't say he wasn't surprised to see the furious look on the face of one of the two human children he had just saved.

"That's my friend who you've attacked. I'm not going to let you off," the boy declared fiercely, panting heavily from what must have been a sprint down the winding stairway.

Zoro felt an eyebrow twitching. "What?" He managed to utter.

"If you hurt Sanji, who's going to cook all that wonderful food for us?"

"Sanji?"

"Th-the vampire." A second head that appeared beside the first supplied.

"Look, it was a fair fight and he's a vampire," Zoro didn't usually have the patience to explain things to children, but there was a passion in the voice of this one that Zoro couldn't entirely ignore.

"You started the fight by upsetting Sanji's gift for Nami!" Luffy accused.

"What?" Zoro asked. His vision was beginning to get blurry once more and he couldn't quite focus on the youths.

"The packed meal." Usopp explained.

The image of the pile of trays and food on the floor flitted past Zoro's mind. And then everything went black.

Luffy and Usopp blinked at the body of the demon hunter who had suddenly collasped, waiting for further movement.

"Maybe he's like Ace," Usopp suggested.

"Did I hear my name?" A voice sounded from the entrance to the room.

"ACE!" Both boys exclaimed as they turned back and saw the newcomer. One in joy, one in shock.

"Hey kids. What were all those empty dishes on the table upstairs?" Ace asked as he walked into the room. "Have you guys been eating?" He continued suspiciously, a you're-gonna-get-it-if-this-was-what-it-seemed-to-be look in his eyes.

Usopp shook his head hard.

"Yup," Luffy said cheerfully. "A pity you missed it! It was great!"

Usopp banged his head on the wall by the window.

Ace walked up to the window and seemed about to land a fist on the top of Luffy's head when he caught sight of the still bodies outside the window.

"Whoa, what happened here?" He asked, then exclaimed after a second look at the one lying nearer to the window, "Demon Hunter Roronoa Zoro?"

"Yup!" Usopp spoke up loudly before Luffy could get a word in. "These people were, in actual fact, defeated by the great Captain-- Usopp!"

* * *

_To be continued..._

Date written: 23 November 2005

Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks to **pitupaso** for leaving a review for the previous chapter.  
(And in case anyone feels so inclined for some reason: please do not include spoilers beyond the Skypiea arc in reviews. Thanks.)


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